004 (GOD'S WAR, 2012 Manga)
Note: This profile refers to the "GOD'S WAR" manga and light novel adaptations by Joe Onodera, and may contain information that does not apply to the original notes for the storyline or to what is seen in the OVA incarnation. "Albert Heinrich" (アルベルト・ハインリヒ'' Aruberto Heinrihi''), aka 004, is a long-haul truck driver that was abducted by Black Ghost for their Cyborg Astronaut Project (C.A.P.) after he responded to a false classified ad for a better job. Tragically, this event also ended in the murder of his fiancee Hilda. As a 00 prototype, he was converted into a systemic weapon. Although his actual name is supposed to be different, for the purpose of the story he is referred to by his classic counterpart's name. Appearance Albert is a silver-haired man of average height, with eyes that lack noticeable pupils and irises (although as with his classic look, this is a stylistic choice). Other notable features include his aquiline nose and long, frequently scowling mouth. As a 00 Cyborg, he wears a "samurai blue"-colored uniform with a red scarf, although the other details of the costume remain identical to the original red look (with gold buttons, black contrast bands, and black boots). While he has artificial skin to conceal his cybernetics and give him a more passably human appearance (aside from his arms), his right hand is exposed metal due to its machine gun nature, which he conceals with black leather gloves. His metallic body is invulnerable enough to cause a knife to bend and warp in a stabbing attempt, but is no match for the teeth of demons. He is also shown to still have blood or an equivalent fluid, as when attacked by oni, he bleeds profusely from his head and nose, along with being shown with bloodied limb stumps in the aftermath of the first Tokyo disaster. When not in the team uniform, he tends to wear long-sleeved shirts and clothing that would do the most to conceal his body. Personality Having had no time to grieve his fiancee's death during the battles against Black Ghost, the full effect of the tragedy hit Albert after the organization was believed to be defeated. With retiring back to his home country, he has become melancholy and hollow, unable to enjoy the peace he sought due to how his happiness had been stolen away. The memory of Hilda's death still traumatizes him when he's reminded, although he tries to hide his grief around others and exhibits a calm demeanor. While he tries to act aloof after meeting Iere, the resemblance to Hilda that he sees in her causes him to take an interest in her. He is unable to relate to her exact situation, though he states his belief that "everyone has something they have to live with, without being defeated by it" (in relation to his loss and his cybernetic status). Even after Iere's attempt at betraying him, he was willing to forgive and understand, and found himself starting to be attracted to her. In the light novel, it is also stated that Albert had lost faith in any God after Hilda's death, which explains his solemn reaction to Iere stating the same. Abilities and Equipment As in the original manga, Albert's right hand acts as a machine gun, while his left hand has an electro-magnetic knife. He also bears the knee missile cannons in both legs. But in contrast to his original manga power set, he is also depicted (perhaps in art error) with a knife blade that can extend from his right forearm. In the upgrade given to him by Dr. Gilmore, he was given two arms with machine gun hands. The power-ups given to him by Ivan also granted him the ability for his bullets to track and affect targets from a longer range, along with being able to teleport the bullets to their targets. Albert's abdomen contains a Hiroshima-level atomic bomb, which unlike the original manga, comes up as more of a plot point towards the end of the story. History In the winter of 2005, Albert and his fiancee Hilda had been engaged for a year and had planned to get married. Although they were happy, their life was difficult with them living in poverty, and Albert had been trying to make ends meet with his trucking job. After seeing an advertisement in the newspaper for a job that would pay better, they responded and went to meet the boss. Unfortunately, this was a trap set by the Black Ghost C.A.P. recruiters, who murdered Hilda and incapacitated Albert, leaving him to be abducted and remodeled into a cyborg weapon. After the assumed defeat of the organization, Albert went back to his life as a trucker in Germany, but was consumed by emptiness. In 2011, after protecting a girl named Iere from a group of men that wanted revenge on her for stealing their money (with her posing as a prostitute to trick them), he became transfixed by how she reminded him of his lost lover. Unbeknownst to Albert, Iere had managed to see into his mind and copy Hilda's appearance and mannerisms, as well as know that he was a cyborg soldier. Albert and Iere would meet a second time, when she convinced him to take her back to her village. With this, he learned that the people of her village had psychic powers, as well as finding out that they were attempting to poison him so that he'd be a sacrifice (in place of Iere's boyfriend Caturix) to open a gateway to the "Spirit World". Iere quickly had a change of heart and opted to save Albert instead, as she had fallen in love with him and could not bring herself to let him be killed. She also revealed herself to actually be a fairy, and that the mysterious village was actually populated by the species (but disguised themselves as humans). Although Albert could understand Iere's motivation, he refused her idea of escaping to the "Spirit World" to evade the predicted destruction of the Earth, as he preferred to stay on the planet and fight whatever threats there were. Albert was then attacked again by Iere's boyfriend Caturix, who was livid at him for stealing his lover, and who believed that defeating Albert in the fight would cause him to be sacrificed. However, Caturix quickly learned that he was to be the sacrifice after all, for being the stronger warrior. After being stabbed by the villagers, he threw himself into the "Spirit World" portal in revenge, emerging in the form of the demon Crom Cruach (aka "Crow") and embarking on a wide-scale slaughter. While Albert managed to save Iere from being eaten by the demon, the injuries she experienced were too severe and she died, while Crom Cruach flew away to the moon. By February 2012, Albert was called to a meeting of the 00 Cyborg Team in Japan, as Ivan had predicted that a disaster would strike soon. He agreed to scouting out Tokyo, adamant about fighting the "Gods" at whatever cost. As the country quickly became ambushed by demons and a tsunami, he attempted to battle against a pack of oni, but had both of his arms ripped off, along with his right leg being severed at the thigh and having his left foot chewed off. Fortunately, Ivan's teleportation powers quickly rescued him and the other wounded cyborgs from the battlefield. Due to his extensive damage, Albert was given two machine gun hands in an attempt to strengthen his abilities, but Ivan insisted on awakening the hidden esper-fueled powers that he had within him. After the team defeated the giant Moai in Tokyo and believed themselves to be free of having to fight, Albert attempted to go back to Germany but found it difficult to be scarce, as videos of the cyborgs' battles had made it onto the internet. Before he left Japan, he had requested a further remodeling from Dr. Gilmore, as a failsafe procedure. While attempting to get back to his usual life, Albert soon experienced a mental attack from the Gods, which exploited his rage and vulnerability, as well as his grief over the loss of Iere. This drove him into a homicidal state, causing him to shoot out the tires of another truck on the road and then slaughter wildlife. He was quickly broken out of his rage by Ivan's intervention, and gained more powers to strengthen him against the Gods. He was then approached by the remaining residents of the fairy village, who informed him of Crom Cruach's return. In his attempt to avenge Iere's death, he wound up burned, and was only saved from death by the quick thinking of Great Britain and Francoise. In the final battle against the Gods, Albert fought against a giant form of the Norse God Odin, only for his abilities to be of no use. He was swiftly crushed and wound up crippled below the waist. With being unable to carry on, Albert informed Britain of his intent to sacrifice himself, via activating the nuclear bomb that he requested for Dr. Gilmore to implant. Britain, using his powers to possess the body of an angel, flew Albert away to a secluded spot as bait for a horde of Gods, and let him detonate. With the rebirth of the "World of Light" in the epilogue, Albert appeared in human form with the rest of the team, as they decided to have fun at the beach. Notes *In Ishinomori's original notes for "GOD'S WAR", Albert's eyes were mentioned as being able to emit death rays, and his spit was noted as being poisonous. These abilities did not survive the cut in Joe Onodera's version, although they were also only brought up as brief notes for 004 and it is unknown how they would have played into Ishinomori's vision (if at all). *Due to the page constraints in the manga version, Albert's origin sequence was not detailed. In the panel alluding to Hilda's death, Masato Hayase mistakenly drew the original manga depiction, complete with the circus animal cage in the back of the truck. *In the light novel, both of Albert's hands are stated to have the machine gun ability in the "Fairy Road" chapter. The manga art opts to instead have him only use his right hand as a gun in the chapter, leaving his double machine gun ability to come when Gilmore upgrades him. *The detail where Albert requests to be upgraded with the atomic bomb was left out of the manga telling and is only present in light novel #3, perhaps due to the page constraints for the manga. Category:Cyborgs Category:Conclusion: GOD'S WAR Characters Category:Male characters